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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22710241">Operate through Teamwork.</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/kbl55429/pseuds/kbl55429'>kbl55429</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>9-1-1 (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, F/M, M/M, Slow Burn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-04-28 13:54:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,812</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22710241</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/kbl55429/pseuds/kbl55429</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Buck gets an offer from the Chief of Fire but is not sure he wants to take it. After hearing his family talking about him and getting left behind again he decides to take the Chief up on his offer not being able to take it anymore. The 118 will have to suffer the consequences of their actions, what happens when they learn the truth about the “lawsuit.”</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Athena Grant/Bobby Nash, Evan "Buck" Buckley &amp; Athena Grant, Evan "Buck" Buckley &amp; Bobby Nash, Evan "Buck" Buckley &amp; Christopher Diaz, Evan "Buck" Buckley &amp; Eddie Diaz, Evan "Buck" Buckley &amp; Lena Bosko, Evan "Buck" Buckley &amp; Maddie Buckley, Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz, Evan “Buck” Buckley &amp; Original Character, Henrietta "Hen" Wilson/Karen Wilson, Maddie Buckley/Howie "Chimney" Han</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>32</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>379</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I changed the timeline, everything happens in order but it happens before the tsunami. The tsunami still happens just not for a while.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Tuesday, Mid-Morning</strong>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>Buck stood there for what felt like the millionth time in the past two months watching the fire truck pull out of the station once again leaving him behind. He felt the tears building up behind his eyes, he couldn’t take it anymore. Being a firefighter was his life but lately he was really starting to hate everything about it. He knew the lawsuit was going to cause a riff in the team but he hoped that they would listen to his side of the story and get all the information before they threw accusations around but they never let him get a word in.</p><p> </p><p>Buck knew it was going to take some time so he’d give it to them but weeks pass and he was still the black sheep. When he’d walk into a room it would go silent, he wasn’t invited to eat with everyone any more, inside or outside of work and he was given all the chores. He wasn’t even invited to Eddies one year ceremony, that hurt the worse. There had been one guy, he was a new transfer who had treated him with friendship and he had appreciated it he did but he needed his old friends, his family back. Others in the firehouse weren’t mean but they weren’t nice either, they’d acknowledge he was there but they wouldn’t speak to him. Buck suspected they thought they had to or they’d get stuck with him doing all the grunt wotk.</p><p> </p><p>At first he took it in stride but it was slowly draining every bit of life out of him and he was losing what little fight he had left. Everything he did was now all for nothing. Recently the Chief had offered him a promotion and a transfer to another house where they needed a Lieutenant. He didn’t want to accept it at first but he gave him a week to decide but after he listened to who were once the most important people in his life talk about him this morning and being left once again he decided to take him up on his offer.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> It made him wonder him many times they talked bad about him when he wasn’t in the room.</span></p><p> </p><p>He pulled out his phone and sent a message then walked back to his locker and packed up all his belongings and sat down and waited. About ten minutes later his phone went off. As soon as he read the message he picked up his bag, pried his name plate off his locker so nothing was left of him and walked around the firehouse one last time. He was soon hit with the biggest case of nostalgia ever. He could see all the laughter and tears he shared, he could see his first day and how excited he was to be here and all the meals and fun they shared together. A tear slid down his cheek and then another and then another, now all the good memories were replace with the most recent painful ones. He had to be somewhere else, he walked out of the 118 one last time and drove away to his new future, one he never thought he have outside of the 118.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>
  <br/>
  <strong>Thursday, Late Afternoon</strong>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>They were eight hours in of a ten hour shift without a single call which had been extremely weird but they didn’t want to think too much into it, yesterday had been rough so it was nice to have a slow day. Bobby was sitting in his office catching up on paperwork to which he was really behind on when there was a knock on the door. “Come in.”</p><p> </p><p>When the door opened he stood immediately when he came face to face with the Chief of Fire. He knew this visit wasn’t going to be very pleasant, it was not everyday the Chief walked into your office. “Captain Nash, please round up Edmundo Diaz, Henrietta Wilson, and Howard Han and meet me downstairs within the next five minutes.” He didn’t give Bobby a chance to respond as he turned around and walked out of his office.</p><p> </p><p>Five minutes later they were all lined up downstairs, the air was thick with tension, they didn’t know their lives were about to be uprooted. The Chief was handed some folders from his assistant and stared at them until Bobby said something, “Sir what is this?”</p><p> </p><p>“Captain Nash the department doesn’t take kindly to bullying, in fact as you know we have a zero tolerance for it. It has come to my attention of the treatment you have been giving firefighter Buckley. And no from the looks on your faces, it was not from him, the man never said a word to anyone. After everything he has done for you, you’ve treated him unkindly and with immense disrespect and I won’t stand for this kind of behavior in my department.”</p><p> </p><p>Nobody said a word, Bobby had told them to let him do all the talking, “sir I’m a little confused as to what Mr. Buckley did besides sue the department and tell things about our personal lives to a lawyer which he had no business telling.”</p><p> </p><p>The Chief now had fire in his eyes and Bobby knew right then he didn’t have the whole story. “Captain Nash listen to me and you listen hard. Mr. Buckley never told that lawyer any of that information, he had already know it and blackmailed Mr. Buckley into the lawsuit. Yes he had started the lawsuit by himself at first. But after having a talk with his doctor and with much consideration he knew you would never steer him wrong Captain, he trusted you even after you lied to him, he decided to drop the lawsuit and stay on light duty until he was completely ready to come back. But that lawyer made sure he couldn’t by blackmailing him. He threatened to sue you and the three people standing behind you for negligence if Mr. Buckley didn’t continue. Right after that Mr. Buckley came to me and we launched an investigation with the help of the LAPD. It turned out that the lawyer had people inside the LAFD and the LAPD and was using information to blackmail people for money, it ranges from businesses, private citizens to public servants in high standing. Then after that fire drill and noticing how close all five of you were he looked more into your group and found that Mr. Buckley was essentially the week link in the chain, though that man is anything but weak. After everything he had been through recently and looking at Bucks background he knew how much his job meant to him, how much all of you meant to him so he played to that weakness. It took us longer to discover everyone then we initially thought which caused the lawsuit to go further then we expected. We were having problems finding the rest of his people, so we took a gamble and offered a settlement, a rather large one and it caused the lawyer to get arrogant and it was the final nail in his coffin. You know after hearing how much money we put out Buckley could’ve easily taken it and said screw it all but he didn’t, his loyalty remained with you all, his team, too bad they didn’t return the sentiment.”</p><p> </p><p>The Chief paused and everyone was feeling the affects of what they were hearing. Bobby could see the slump of their shoulders, the guilt in their eyes, he could feel it on their shoulders weighing them down. He knew it because it was the same thing he was feeling, Buck had sacrificed so much for them and they turned their backs on him, they failed him in more ways then one. He opened his mouth to say something, anything he didn’t know what but the Chief wasn’t done, he was only about to dig the knife deeper.</p><p> </p><p>“After the arrest of everyone, we let Mr. Buckley come back to work for all he had went through, he would be allowed to go out on calls but he wouldn't be allowed to help in any rescues and only provide medical attention. He was okay with that, all he said is he wanted to come back to his family. We offered to tell all of you for him, have you come in downtown and lay everything out for you but he said he wanted to be the one to do it, that it would be better if you heard it from him instead of someone else. Turns out you never gave him the chance. It had come to my attention recently that it had only gotten worse so for that that’s where these folders come into play, these are transfer papers, Captain Nash you will transfer to the 108 with a lost of rank, it’s not forever but don’t make me make it permanent. The rest of you will be transferred to other separate firehouses until you can learn to trust your fellow firefighters, all of them, you will all be under strict scrutiny. You will be given this weekend to get your affairs in order and then you are to report to your new stations Monday morning. And yes this is a punishment.”</p><p> </p><p>He handed the folders out to them and said one last thing, “if you had trusted Mr. Buckley like he said you did you wouldn’t be in this position, he had so much faith in you guys and you let him down, hopefully this will help you learn from your mistakes. Also Mr. Buckley is getting an accommodation and a promotion tomorrow morning at headquarters, you will all to be there, no questions.” And after that he turned around and walked out of the fire station leaving them all in shock.</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>When the Chief walked out nobody moved for what seemed like hours but it was mere seconds. Eddie was the first to move as he turned around and walked into the bunk room, they pretended they didn’t hear the smashing and the yelling, they knew it was what he needed right now. The man who was his best friend and the person he was in love with, whether he wanted to admit it or not, had sacrificed everything and they treated him like garbage in return. They all had to suffer the consequences for their actions. Bobby, Chim and Hen walked upstairs and sat down on the couches. Nobody spoke for who knows how long until Bobby broke it, “I’m sorry guys.”</p><p> </p><p>”It’s not your fault Bobby, we all treated him unkindly and we all have to take responsibility for it.” Hen said.</p><p> </p><p>”Yeah but I’m the boss and I set the precedent for how this firehouse works, the people that work here follow my lead, this is my fault.” Bobby responded with his head in his hands.</p><p> </p><p>”Bobby...” Chim started but what interrupted.</p><p> </p><p>”The Captains right.” They turned around and was met with firefighter Munez, “everyone in the firehouse knew there was something else going on with Buck but everyone was afraid to talk to him afraid they would get punished for it. He’s a good guy, he’d never turn on you, any of you, the way he talked about all of you, anyone could see he’d do anything for you and he did. Now you have to deal with the consequences, I hope it was all worth it.” He turned and walked away not waiting for their responses.</p><p> </p><p>Bobby watched him go knowing everything he said was true. He didn’t know what else to say so he just stood up and walked away into the office. They ignored the way the door slamming echoed throughout the building. Hen and Chim just looked at each other, each seeing the guilt in each other’s eyes knowing it wasn’t going away any time soon.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Bobby is hit even harder.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Was going through my stories, saw that I had chapter 2 written (which I forgot that I did) and decided to post it. Don’t know when chapter three will be out. And I decided to demote Bobby.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Thursday Night</strong>
</p><p> </p><p>Bobby pulled into his driveway and just sat trying to collect his thoughts.He didn’t know what he was going to tell Athena, he knew she wasn’t going to be happy with him and he wouldn’t blame her.Buck was like a son to her and he let not only Buck but her down, he had always promised to look out for him and he let him down. He took a deep breath in and released it, it was now or never. </p><p> </p><p>When he walked inside Athena was sitting down on the couch reading a book with a glass of wine in her hand.“Athena.”</p><p> </p><p>“Bobby, honey, I’m glad...” She must have seen the pain in his eyes, she after all knew him better then anyone else, “Bobby what’s wrong?” A few tears fell from his eyes, before he knew Athena was pulling him down on the couch in a hug, “Bobby, honey you’re worrying me, what’s wrong?”</p><p> </p><p>“I screwed up Athena. I screwed up badly and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to to fix it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, hey, hey. Bobby looked at me.” He looked at her and all he saw was love, he didn’t deserve it, not right now, “there you are, now tell me what happened.”</p><p> </p><p>“The lawsuit, it wasn’t real...”</p><p> </p><p>“Buck finally told you did he?” Athena interrupted him.</p><p> </p><p>“Wait, you knew?” Bobby asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Of course I did, who do you think was the lead investigator.”</p><p> </p><p>“You knew and didn’t think to tell me?” Bobby snapped.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t use the tone with me Robert Nash. I was under strict orders not to, we didn’t know who we could trust. And before you think I didn’t trust you, I do, but this had to be kept on the DL because if it didn’t pan out the lest people on these creeps radar the better. They had friends in high places Bobby, people who could ruin careers. The chief came to me because they knew I was the one person in the police department who would do anything to protect the 118. If I messed up anywhere I could’ve lost my job and I was not willing to risk anyone else’s career or life. In the end everything ended up ok.”</p><p> </p><p>Bobby stood up angry, not at Athena but at himself, at the situation but mostly himself.He should’ve trusted Buck but he couldn’t see the forest for the trees when it came to him and it ended biting him in the ass.“But it didn’t.”</p><p> </p><p>“What do you mean Bobby.”</p><p> </p><p>“I was demoted and Hen, Chim and Eddie we’re transferred.”</p><p> </p><p>Athena stood up and Bobby could see the anger in her eyes, “what did you do Robert Nash.”</p><p> </p><p>“When Buck came back,” he took a deep breath knowing he was about to let his wife down and the thought of that hurt.“We weren’t exactly welcoming, I stopped him from going out on calls, stuck him on all the grunt work, stopped inviting him to dinner and out for team bonding. The chief found out and came into the firehouse today and was not happy, not that I blame him, the others in the firehouse weren’t mean but they ignored him because they were afraid I would punish them for it. The chief told us the truth, he demoted me and transferred all of us and put us on probation as a punishment.”</p><p> </p><p>“Robert Nash, I never thought you could ever be this cruel.You know I asked him how things were going and he said they were great.He never said a word Bobby. How could you let him down like that? He looked up to you.Now you have to suffer the consequences.” Athena stood up and walked towards the front door.</p><p> </p><p>“Where are you going?” Bobby asked.</p><p> </p><p>“To see Buck and make sure he’s okay. To let him know that he still has some family left.You better think long and hard about a way to make it up to him.But Bobby you have to promise me something?”</p><p> </p><p>He released a breath, “anything.”</p><p> </p><p>She walked closer and grabbed his cheeks softly, “that no matter how hard it gets, you do not find other destructive ways to cope. Promise me if you get that urge, you’ll talk to someone, promise Bobby. ”</p><p> </p><p>A few tears fell from his eyes as he nodded his head, “I promise,” he said a little choked up.</p><p> </p><p>She smiled just a little, it didn’t reach her eyes, “thank you. We’ll get past this ok. I love you with everything I have but right now I don’t like you very much. I think it’ll be best if you sleep in the guest room for a little while.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay.”</p><p> </p><p>Athena turned around and walked out the door.As soon as he knew she was gone he fell to his knees sobbing into his hands, suddenly very happy the kids were on vacation with Michael.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I had this idea in my head so I wrote it down, I’m not sure where to go after. To be honest I’m have plenty of ideas but I’m not sure if I want to write it or not because I’m good at coming up with the idea but I’m not sure I’m good enough to to do it justice. Let me know what you think.</p><p>Also the title of the story I took it from the operating principles of the LAFD, it was on their website, thought it was fitting for the story, also I have no idea how promotions work in the LAFD so I just went with it.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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